Are Kai tucks sealed shut or just folded shut?

[Amorphous Metal]

Well your "assurances" mean little.

I suppose I am also a "bit" biased from my professional field where tamperproof desings play a big role in the protection of consumers, so I frown on products that I come upon that do not meet even the lowest standard. From everyday consumer products they are very evident especially for food and especially for products that comes into direct frequent contact with blood.

I will repeat, there is a reason for tamperproof desing in the packaging of most (if not all) consumer products. And that is to protect person buying the product. In this world we live in, where no crazy is crazy enough to prevent somebody to actually do it ... is expecting some basic tamperproof packaging for DE blades really that hillarious.

Joking or minimizing about that aspect does not diminish its purpose or importance. Actually just the fact of coming into frequent contact with blood would mean if the same standards are applied for DE blades as for similar (medical) instruments, the whole lot should be sterilised, which to my knowledge only one manufacturer actully did, of course for a premium. The only thing that makes unsterillised DE blades a viable product is I suppose germs do not really like clean flat metal surfaces with no nooks big enough to hide in. And the manufacturing is energy intensive on the edge and also chemically aggresive in case of coatings so I suppose that helps also.

 

[86-foxtrot]

Well your "assurances" mean little.

I suppose I am also a bit biased from my professional field where tamperproof desings play a big role in the protection of consumers, so I frown on products that I come upont that do not meet even the lowest standard. From everyday consumer products they are very evident especially for food and especially for products that comes into direct frequent contact with blood.

I will repeat, there is a reason for tamperproof desing in the packaging of most (if not all) consumer products. And that is to protect person buying the product. In this world we live in, where no crazy is crazy enough to prevent somebody to actually do it ... is expecting some basic tamperproof packaging for DE blades really that hillarious.

Joking or minimizing about that aspect does not diminish its purpose or importance. Actually just the fact of coming into frequent contact with blood would mean if the same standards are applied for DE blades as for similar (medical) instruments, the whole lot should be sterilised, which to my knowledge only one manufacturer actully did, of course for a premium. The only thing that makes unsterillised DE blades a viable product is I suppose the metallo effect. Germs do not really like clean metal surfaces.

Touché. IMHO, there are simply so many other things to get worked up about in life. Potential deadly diseases on a thin piece of metal falls near the bottom of that list.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Do you really want to use a blade that some person used before you.

I have a bunch of vintage straight razors, so...yes?

 

[AnimalCatcher]

Kai blades are excellent; sharp, durable and they do well in a mild razor. Having said that, I think the reason for the strange packaging is because Kai are actually 'industrial blades'. At least that's how they've always been listed at Kai's website.

 

[JimL911]

I thought I got a bad blade; now it's the delivery guy with somebody's foamy in the back of the truck.

 

[RAD patient]

I can't wait

It's Monday. Here's me at the edge of my seat waiting anxiously for the results.

 

[RAD patient]

anybody in the delivery chain could in essence take a blade out, shave a couple of times and put it back in and none would be the wiser

Is that really something you worry about?
Better come live in Holland. Most delivery guys are muslim and sport a beard. No problemo.
Or were you joking? In that case thanks for giving me a very good laugh!

Edit: It looked like this message didn't go through so I sent another one...

 

[RAD patient]

anybody in the delivery chain could in essence take a blade out, shave a couple of times and put it back in and none would be the wiser

Hope you are joking, because this made me laugh out really loud.
I better throw out my 800 tucks of Perma Sharp blades because none of my boxes are properly sealed.
Maybe Boris shaved with all of them in the St. Petersburg plant..

 

[amateur]

I'll distract you a little from the Kai blades. I looked at the packaging of Ladas blades produced in Moscow. Their cost is several times lower than Japanese blades. And yet, each pack is sealed in cellophane. Each blade in the pack is packed in a colored envelope and sealed. I don't know if it has anything to do with quality? But I like this manufacturer's approach.

 

[Raz0rboy]

It took me years to find the right blade, not the one that was best wrapped.
under the microscope it turns out to be one of the best on the market. Not many with the same quality

I usually buy them in bulk and perhaps I agree that they could be packaged better but I see no reason to start mental ramblings…
an used razor blade in the box?
Then? the waiter who spits on the plate etc...

 

[Mr. Shavington]

It just doesn’t seem plausible that someone in the distribution chain would use or tamper with a Kai blade and then re-wrap it and put it back in the box. But if this worries you then you’ll have to buy other blades. Even glued boxes frequently arrive unstuck, in my experience. Feather DE blades can be purchased in a hard, plastic box with cellophane outer wrapper, so that’s one secure alternative (and Feather is part of Kai), though the blades are not the same as the Kai-branded ones.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

It just doesn’t seem plausible that someone in the distribution chain would use or tamper with a Kai blade and then re-wrap it and put it back in the box.

It doesn't. Those folks barely have time to take a leak, let alone knock out a 3 pass shave and rewrap the blade. I've worked on both ends of that process (warehouse, and delivery). I can see someone stealing blades out of unsecured tucks, but even that is pretty unlikely.

if someone wanted to maliciously tamper with a blade in some other, more diabolical way, they could. But they could do that with tamper evident packaging too, quite easily. These are not things that keep me awake at night.

 

[Frito Ray]

So it’s Monday.

To tell you the truth, all I was looking for is a reason not to buy them. At $6 for 5 blades I would expect them to be shrink-wrapped, bubble-wrapped, gift-wrapped and be accompanied with a handwritten thank-you note. It’s one of the main reasons I haven’t looked into SE razors is the price of SE blades…I’m chea…ah frugal.

But I’m a bit astonished at how quickly this thread derailed and devolved into ridicule.

Healthy folks surrounded by other healthy folks have less reason to be worried about germs. People who have, or live with a person with a compromised immune systems, like the folks undergoing chemotherapy, have to be super vigilant.

 

[Frito Ray]

Kai blades are excellent; sharp, durable and they do well in a mild razor. Having said that, I think the reason for the strange packaging is because Kai are actually 'industrial blades'. At least that's how they've always been listed at Kai's website.

Did not know that!

Ironically I did buy disposable Kai straight razors from a hardware supply (Lee Valley) for use in the shop. They were hermetically double wrapped and was tempted into shaving with one. It didn’t go too well but this was years ago when I was still in my cartridge razor days.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

So it’s Monday.

To tell you the truth, all I was looking for is a reason not to buy them. At $6 for 5 blades I would expect them to be shrink-wrapped, bubble-wrapped, gift-wrapped and be accompanied with a handwritten thank-you note. It’s one of the main reasons I haven’t looked into SE razors is the price of SE blades…I’m chea…ah frugal.

But I’m a bit astonished at how quickly this thread derailed and devolved into ridicule.

Healthy folks surrounded by other healthy folks have less reason to be worried about germs. People who have, or live with a person with a compromised immune systems, like the folks undergoing chemotherapy, have to be super vigilant.

Well, they are expensive blades, that’s true. I have no idea why the prices are so much higher than other blades, and I don’t know how the prices are in Japan. Perhaps it’s a factor of international distribution costs for a relatively less widely sold product, or perhaps it’s because they are much more costly to manufacture and are designed for a more specialised application than shaving.

Personally I like them and they’re still an inexpensive thing per shave, albeit you can buy other good blades for less than half the cost.

 

[Galibier_Numero_Un]

So it’s Monday.

But I’m a bit astonished at how quickly this thread derailed and devolved into ridicule.

So you trolled everyone and are surprised the direction this thread took?

 

[86-foxtrot]

I can't speak for everyone. It's a matter of personal choice to use the blades or another brand. Kai blades chose not to plastic wrap their DE blades. There is no glue dots or branding of the blades. I personally like the no glue dot approach. One less thing to get gunked up in my razors.

Perhaps Kai does not want to add to plastic waste. I do find it interesting they are marketed as industrial blades on their website. That may explain the increased cost.

Everything is a matter of personal choice, both from the consumer and manufacturer viewpoint.

 

[awk_m4]

Well your "assurances" mean little.

I suppose I am also a "bit" biased from my professional field where tamperproof desings play a big role in the protection of consumers, so I frown on products that I come upon that do not meet even the lowest standard. From everyday consumer products they are very evident especially for food and especially for products that comes into direct frequent contact with blood.

I will repeat, there is a reason for tamperproof desing in the packaging of most (if not all) consumer products. And that is to protect person buying the product. In this world we live in, where no crazy is crazy enough to prevent somebody to actually do it ... is expecting some basic tamperproof packaging for DE blades really that hillarious.

Joking or minimizing about that aspect does not diminish its purpose or importance. Actually just the fact of coming into frequent contact with blood would mean if the same standards are applied for DE blades as for similar (medical) instruments, the whole lot should be sterilised, which to my knowledge only one manufacturer actully did, of course for a premium. The only thing that makes unsterillised DE blades a viable product is I suppose germs do not really like clean flat metal surfaces with no nooks big enough to hide in. And the manufacturing is energy intensive on the edge and also chemically aggresive in case of coatings so I suppose that helps also.

Totally agree. I’m old enough to remember the Tylenol tampering disaster in the early 1980’s.
One of the results of that was introducing additional security measures.

 

[Jenks]

I like Kai's because they are stellar in my Overlander. But I also like them because all of the material they come in is paper-based. If plastic started showing up I would move on. I am not fussed about the hygiene/tampering issue as I feel that is too remote a possibility to worry about.

 

[Whisky]

I can’t help with the lousy shave you might get from a used razor that was swiped and replaced by the delivery guy, but if you’re really worried about it happening, and the highly unlikely chance of contacting a Blood Borne illness from it, get some Barbicide and toss your razor/blade in it prior to your shave.

I imagine those Kai blades are sold the way they are due to their industrial labeling.